BERKELEY — Surveillance cameras, gunshot microphones and a citywide plan for fighting crime were some of the ideas tossed around at a Berkeley City Council meeting Tuesday night.

At the meeting, called to address rising violent crime in the south and west neighborhoods, city department heads said they are fixing street lights, pruning trees, picking up piles of trash and going after “problem properties.” Another progress report by department heads is due to the City Council on Jan. 27.

Councilmember Gordon Wozniak said it’s about time the city started paying attention to its citizens’ safety. The city makes a big deal about fighting global warming with a climate action plan and goals for reducing carbon emissions, he said, but it has no written plan to fight crime.

“I’ve been on the council six years and this is the first time we’ve had a serious discussion about crime,” Wozniak said. “We do a lot of stuff on free speech and we’re concerned about climate change, but we don’t have a crime plan.”

The meeting was a follow-up to a community crime meeting Sept. 22 at San Pablo Park where about 350 residents came to complain about a recent double homicide that brought the city’s 2008 total to 10, the most since 1997 when there were 11.

Public Works Director Claudette Ford said her department identified 78 broken street lights it plans to fix in south and west Berkeley in the next three weeks. And it started picking up piles of trash instead of waiting for residents to clean it up.

William Rogers, director of the Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Services department said 350 trees blocking street lights will be trimmed in November.

And Lisa Caronna, deputy city manager, said the city is focusing on 10 “chronic problem properties” in the neighborhood whose owners’ neglect is contributing to “quality of life” issues. Those 10 are in addition to 68 other problem properties the city is watching since their owners have been warned to clean up their acts.

Mark Johnson, a resident who lives on Channing Way, was one of about 20 people who spoke about crime in south and west Berkeley.

“We bought our house two-and-a-half years ago and since then we’ve had to call the police about 25 times, the most recent being a 911 call that wasn’t answered,” Johnson said.

“I came to Berkeley for its diversity, but ended up with a true nightmare.”

Police Chief Douglas Hambleton said in addition to having two bicycle officers spend more time in the neighborhood, he is instructing officers to spend time in city recreation departments so they can get to know the children in the area.

He said this year there has been an average of 50 armed robberies a month in Berkeley. As a result of the rising crime and fear, two new neighborhood-watch groups have formed in the area and a third has reactivated, he said.

“We really encourage active neighborhood-watch groups,” Hambleton said. “There are 88 that meet in the city on an active basis. I’d like to see that improve.” Councilmember Darryl Moore said he wants city employees to look into surveillance cameras and gunshot microphones that can direct police officers to the scene of potential crimes.

“Let’s say if we get 80 (percent) or 90 percent of residents who want cameras, we should look at that possibility,” Moore said. “And we should look to see if these kinds of programs are successful in other cities.”

After the meeting, Hambleton said he has “mixed feelings” about gunshot microphones and surveillance cameras.

“Microphones are very expensive,” Hambleton said. “And you have to have the officers available to respond when the shots go off.”

Fixed surveillance cameras, he said, don’t always help identify criminals who may be in disguise. Cameras that you can move around to troubled areas are better, he said, but you need someone to monitor them.

Councilmember Max Anderson said the meeting was a good start, but “what really matters is how we sustain our efforts. The street lights, tree trimming, cops on bikes, these things need to be sustained.”

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